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Nashoba Tech a Level 1 school

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
10/28/2012 06:38:42 AM EDT

WESTFORD -- Nashoba Valley Technical High School received more good news when MCAS scores were released in September.

Under the Massachusetts Department of Education's new accountability system, school districts are divided into five levels based on their performance on the MCAS test, with Level 1 schools being the highest-ranking schools.

Based on its students' performance on the MCAS test administered last spring, Nashoba Tech has been labeled a Level 1 district. In fact, Nashoba Tech is the only high school in its district -- which includes the towns of Ayer, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend and Westford -- to be deemed a Level 1 district.

What's more, for the second straight year, every 10th-grader passed the English portion of the MCAS.

The results are from the tests taken last spring by sophomores. Students must pass the MCAS tests in English and math to graduate from high school.

According to Gabriella White, Nashoba Tech's academic/testing coordinator, the school is labeled a Level 1 school because it met its performance targets in all three tests -- English, Math and Science -- as well as its targets for graduation and dropout rates.

Nashoba Tech also increased the number of students who scored at the "advanced" level in all three tests, and among the state's 29 vocational-technical schools, scored third-highest in growth in English and sixth-highest in math.

Nashoba Tech Superintendent Judith Klimkiewicz said that while the school is pleased with its continued improvement, it still hasn't reached its ultimate goal.

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"We continue to work exceedingly hard at improving proficiency, and credit needs to go to the hard work of the teacher trainers and the staff," Klimkiewicz said. "But we won't be happy until everybody is either advanced or proficient. We always strive for perfection for all students. Excellence is our goal."

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